Captain America has always been the heart and soul of the Marvel Cinematic Universe and he has lead the Avengers from the front along with Iron Man. Just like we absolutely love Iron Man and cannot imagine anyone else playing the character other than Robert Downey Jr., the same is the case for Chris Evans’ Captain America.
He has pulled off a blinder in the last 8 years, making us fall in love with a character that people actually considered rather boring.
Captain America has actually had the most perfect superhero trilogy ever, with every film growing bigger as it moves forward. The First Avenger was an awesome origin story, and not may fans will say this, but it was actually flawless and as good as Iron Man! Then Cap shined in the Avengers which only became his second appearance in the MCU.
After that came The Winter Soldier which surprised its fans showing how bad-ass Cap really is! That also marked the entry of the Russo Brothers. Cap had a little illusionistic Cameo in Thor 2, then he fought Ultron and his army and after that followed the big event that completely set the basis for the entire Phase 3.
Civil War was such a huge event as it did a whole lot than just being a final Captain America movie. It really set the premise for Spider-Man: Homecoming, Black Panther and Avengers: Infinity War. So, all the movies with Captain America had some hefty contributions coming in from him.
The thought of seeing him leave the does make us pretty sad as Chris Evans has already confirmed that his contract is done, and his farewell tweet after finishing the Avengers 4 reshoots really broke a lot of people’s hearts. But along with many characters taking their retirement from the MCU post-Avengers 4, it has been confirmed that the directors Joe & Anthony Russo are also going to depart after Avengers 4 hits the theatres.
Moreover, co-director Joe Russo actually gave us something very cryptic about Captain America, that what he said in an interview with USA Today will leave us all confused and hopeful at the same time. He mentioned the fact that Chris Evans is certainly not done as Captain America yet, even though they are. Talking about Evans’ farewell tweet, here’s what he said:
“I think it was more emotional for [Chris Evans] than it was for us, mostly cause he’s not done yet. I don’t want to explain what I mean, but audiences will soon understand.”
Now, what exactly could this mean? Evans was already shaky from signing the long Marvel contract in the first place and he has been claiming the fact that his contract is done, and he will no longer be portraying Captain America post-Avengers 4. So, what does the Russo statement mean here?
Has Feige got in a new deal with Evans? Is he not going to die in Avengers 4? Is he actually going to be a part of the Sam & Bucky show on Disney+? Or will we have a Captain America 4 post-Avengers 4?
It could actually mean anything or it could even mean that Joe Russo was just trying to derail us from expecting the unfortunate fate of Captain America. Not being done with Captain America could also have something to do with the fact that we may see Captain America in some flashback sequences or the memories of the heroes in future projects. Russo did claim that we will “soon understand” the meaning of this, so let’s just be patient and very hopeful!
Here’s what Evans said in an interview earlier this year about departing from the role of Captain America:
“Well, you know, my contract is over, so that’s as far as I know. [I’ll miss] everything [about Captain America]. I mean, it’s not just the character, it’s the people – the experience, such good movies, such wonderful memories. I’ll miss a lot.”
“You want to get off the train before they push you off. I used to have thoughts of wanting to climb to the top of something, or wanting to be somebody. But when you get the thing that you think you want and then you wake up and realize that you still have pockets of sadness, and that your struggle will reinvent itself, you stop chasing after those things and it is liberating, because you realize that right here, right now, is exactly all I need.”
Hopefully, Marvel could squeeze one more film out of Captain America post-Avengers 4. After all, writers Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely did have an unused Captain America 3 plot which involved the culmination of Zola and Hydra plot. Also, Red Skull has returned in the MCU, so perhaps a final outing Red Skull teaming up with Baron Zemo going up against Cap? Keep your fingers crossed.
